19

Dec2011

It rained all weekend here in Dallas. This is good news for the drought, but bad news for my one year old son. After the third day of non-stop, chilling rain, my son resorted to just standing beside the backdoor windows staring.

I felt sorry for him. So I decided to pick him up and tell him about the rain. I told him that every time he sees rain it should remind him of God’s grace. In Matthew 5:45, Jesus reminds his disciples that God causes the rain to fall for both the just and the unjust. God blesses people with the ability to live and thrive, regardless of whether or not they deserve it.

I held Kyler for a minute with his hand against the cold pane, watching the rain in silence. I knew he wasn’t old enough to understand what I told him, but it was a needed reminder. God gives us constants. Despite how quickly culture shifts and flows, there are things that don’t change. There is the same ancient grace in every new raindrop drawing us to remember the merciful God ruling over it all.

In the Postmodern Parent column this year, I’ve attempted to tackle some of the new issues facing us as parents in light of the post-everything world we call home. I hope to continue to do this in future posts, but I think it’s important we keep in mind God’s constants. We need to hold on to those things that don’t change, that won’t change, regardless of how different everything seems around us.

I was reminded of this over the Thanksgiving break as my wife and family took my son and two nieces to the Phoenix Zoo. I grew up going to the Phoenix Zoo, so it has always been the image my mind conjured up when I think about zoos (which is more frequent than you might assume). The place in particular my mind imagines is the lion and tiger exhibit.

As I walked up to the exhibit at the end of the day, I was overwhelmed with nostalgia. I found myself picking up a very tired but curious Kyler to show him the Tiger sunning himself, beginning stories with, “When I was your age…” Once again, he didn’t fully appreciate the significance. To him, it was just a zoo with animals he only recently discovered existed. But for me, it was more.

To me it was like grace. The lions and tigers elicited the same fear and wonder, the same joy and giddiness for my son they did for me at his age. It was a deep root for me to grab onto when the rushing river of culture caused me to lose my footing. Not all is new, not all is changed. God gives us constants.As we left the zoo with Kyler on my shoulders, I couldn’t help but thank God. I thanked him for the constants. I thanked him for the privilege of raising children in this postmodern culture, knowing that no matter how frightening the world may seem, there are still animals in the zoo and grace in every raindrop.